This Strange Adventure

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Rinehart's departure from the mystery genre to investigate the social world of women. A rare Mary Roberts Rinehart novel that is not a mystery. This is a clinical study of the life of a woman. Forgotten treasure - but, once read, unforgettable. A story of family at its best, and worst. Unlike most of Rinehart's books, this is not classified as a mystery - although, as in real life, there are surprises and unusual events. A generational saga, a story of "the terrible vitality of women

Genres: Gothic

285 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1929

About the author

Mysteries of the well-known American writer Mary Roberts Rinehart include The Circular Staircase (1908) and The Door (1930).

People often called this prolific author the American version of Agatha Christie. She is considered the source of the phrase "The butler did it," though the exact phrase doesn't appear in her works, and she invented the "Had-I-But-Known" school of mystery writing.

Rinehart wrote hundreds of short stories, poems, travelogues, and special articles. Many of her books and plays were adapted for movies, such as The Bat (1926), The Bat Whispers (1930), and The Bat (1959). Critics most appreciated her murder mysteries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ro...

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the goth rom genre! But this isn't gothrom. Okay, well, a good romance is fine every now and then! But, oh, this is just bad badromance. The big problem is that everything is handed to our heroine, and she just whines about it. Eventually, she decides to check out completely. Frankly, my dears, I just didn't give a damn. That said, good historical atmosphere, so a second star.

[Serena Friend · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this book. I thought it was too depressing. The main character Missie was way too passive about life and let people live her life for her. I didn't like the theme of this book that women had to let men walk all over them and accept it as par for the course. That women didn't have any say over the course of their lives. The worst part was how she tried to paint her husband as such a saint for their son when he was a real dirt bag. She needed to stop living such a facade and show her son some humanity, that people can make mistakes or have bad character and learn from it. She only reaped what she sowed when her son found out about her past mistakes and thought less of her. She should have been honest about the past and the choices she had made instead of living in a fantasy world of what could have been. But then again, this was the Victorian era and appearances were everything. I give the book 3 stars because the author goes into great detail about what life was like growing up in the 1880's and 1890s and all the changes that occurred during those times. It was interesting.

[Carol Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book was a Strange Adventure. Our protagonist kept making strange decisions re how she'd like to do her life. And then she didn't like the way things turned out. SPOILER ALERT: Even when she tried to commit suicide, that didn't work out. A definite head scratcher, but it kept me interested the whole adventure. I liked how it was set in history, and the way the author weaved historical events into the tale.

[Melinda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very depressing story.

[Sandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not an enjoyable book. Depressing.